Photographer's Note

CHIHULY #1

It is explained at his website that Dale Chihuli was born in 1941 in the city of Tacoma, Washington State (not Washington, DC), that he was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington, and that after graduating in 1965, he enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the University of Wisconsin. The website also explains that he continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for more than a decade. His professional biography also includes his training at the Venini glass factory in Venice, observing the team approach to blowing glass.

What is known to Chihuly’s legion of fans are the extraordinarily beautiful colors that he achieves in his blown glass creations. Artistically he is creative and original. He is successful beyond words for disseminating his artistic productivity in exhibitions held around the world. In the early 16th century, the Venetian Master Titian (Titziano) had collaborated with the glassblowers in Murano to learn about some of their secrets in achieving certain colors, especially the reds. Subsequently, Raphael hired away one of Titian’s assistants and his colors became more vibrant, especially the reds.

I live in Fredericksburg, Virginia, 80 km (50 miles) south of Washington, DC and 80 km north of Richmond, Virginia. In February, family and friends had already seen the special Chihuly exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, and the exhibition was about to come to a close. I knew VMFA was extraordinarily gracious in allowing photography at the exhibition. Accordingly, on February 6 I took my camera gear — a Nikon D200, a compact Nikon S9300, and my iPhone 4 and drove down to Richmond, where I produced several dozen photos. I had the opportunity to compare the equipment, and to experiment with the lighting and colors. In the series I am launching here. What was no surprise to me was that under certain limited conditions I could achieve better results with the iPhone than with the two Nikons.

This first photo in the series shows a handful of visitors shooting photos of the transparent ceiling in one of the hallways, with colored Chihuli glass, backlit. The camera is a compact Nikon Coolpix S9300. In subsequent images I will show the artwork, and in some cases visitors attending the exhibition. Accordingly, they will be uploaded into the group theme, Pictures at an Exhibition.

I recently created a new group theme, Symphonies in Color, adding this photo into the collection. The expression, "A symphony of colors," is the way the great Expressionist painter Vincent van Gogh, in a letter to his brother Théo, described the works of French landscape artist Jules Dupré (1811-1889). Van Gogh's words are also appropriate in describing the still life depicted here. I welcome other TE members to add to the theme.

I recently saw a Chihuli sculpture at the Bill Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock; he is really a genuine master artist, and this shot shows some of the skill, marrying technical and aesthetic ability perfectly. The light cast on the wall here is exquisite. Wonderful colors, and I like the inclusion of the other tourists here, as it places the artwork in its proper context, as something to be viewed and experienced, here from below. Thanks!

At first I thought this was taken at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. The casino has a great display of those glass artwork. Awesome capture of the lighting and wonderful colors. Good idea to included the people for scale. Well done, tfs.

Hello Bulent,
Having the glass art above the people creates a magical effect. It reminds me of the ambiance you would find in an aquarium, with the light filtering through in different designs. Your photo shows both the glass art, and the visitors enjoying it, very nicely. The colors are beautiful, but I am more fascinated by the filtered light. Very nice!

Great shot you got there! One of the ladies looks familiar to me! I too have more photos to share of this show. The tricky part was that we were not allowed to use flash! Let us know when and where your next lecture will be.
Thanks, Susu

Amazing photo. what one can do with a glass! The colours are really spectacular. Fantastic play of lights and reflections. Magical photo. Including people was an excellent idea. Superb quality of the image.I am looking forward to seeing more photos from this exhibition.

A good catch of the female photographers with wonderful upper color & saturation. Good sharpness and wonderful streaked patterns on the bg wall formed by the light steaming through & reflecting. The exit sign is well positioned in the frame. Tfs!

The coloured Chihuli glass display is very unique and lovely. The backlighting allows the coloured light to come through, creating a mystical effect in the room, which was well captured as well. Truly an amazing composition. Reminds me of the time I was visiting Park City and helping a close friend do up his new home. We had bought some Malaysia kites (or better known as 'Wau Bulan' in Malaysia) and they were intalled just below the ceiling, with some backlighting as well, and the effect is quite similar to this.

Hello Bulent.
Very good and original composition with these photographers captured at the time of capture those wonderful colors, the design of this spectacular glass roof, which is a real work of art.
Beautiful palette.
Very good brightness and sharpness.
Well done. I love
Have a good day.
Best wishes.
Luis.

Salam Bulent Bey. A fascinatingly bright and colourful exhibition which is obviously captivating the photographers. The young woman with her mouth agape confirms the mood of wonder. Ephemeral, dreamlike and beautiful. Interesting to read your note about the equipment and of course about Titziano. Best wishes. Klaudio.

it is happy meeting with this photo. I like it very much. Great chromo temptation. Question of composition and my opinion: the girl in the middle is enough. If you eliminate two ones from the right the subject should be more clear. That suppose also that you eliminate all is on the right side (to get the dimension of mystery, maybe without "Exit"... All I am saying is a solution.

Your title says almost everything, this is indeed a very nice color palette.
We get wonderful reflections whereby also the wall in background care for additional colors
Sharpness and clarity is very nice.
Excellent composition, also a very nice subject.
Pleasant for look at. TFS.

Selam sevgili Bülent,
Another amazing capture in your gallery with very good pov and layout. Nice brigth colors.
The photographer being photographed is the "bonus" of this nice scenery.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

Hello Bulent
Now that is quite psychedelic with all those shining colors, like in a LSD dream (not that I would know though).
I personnaly never liked the Murano glass, far to kitsch and colorful, but it makes certainly for an attractive photo subject.
have a good evening
Daniel

Hi Bulent, Good 3-D effect with vibrant colours and good notes, as always. Digital photos are making the whole world open up to us all these days. Well cropped with the three people looking towards the open space. TFS. Murray
PS was in Bali recently at mining meeting, what a beautiful place.

Wow, I thought this was part of a Chinese New Year festival. But what an unusual and very beautiful photo you bring us of this extraordinary man Chihuli. I'd never heard of him, but will do some more investigating. The photo is superb, beautifully lit, with such an artistic play of light and shade. The other people included in the shot give us a good sense of scale and context. Thanks for sharing.

Bulent,
this is indeed interesting work - I like the colors and light - they seem to play a subtle game with the senses. Very well captured scene of photographers.
Good composition and perfect proportions.
Thanks for sharing
Kamila

Hi Bulent,
I would love to see that with my own eyes. Ceiling installation has very strong 3D feeling even on this smallish picture. And light coming through makes special patterns on the wall. Amazing.
Kari

Hello Bulent
I like the fact that you've shown us a teasing prelude to this lovely glasswork, and at the same time included some of the other visitors. So we get a slightly disconcerting image which takes a moment to orientate. I like it!
Regards
Will

Greetings.
Very interesting and good text about the artist with the given data ...
Nice view of the visitors and the mural ...
A good time recording, contrast, beautiful color.
A nice moment and a mural ...
Good work, well demonstrated.
All the best.
Paja.

Hello Bulent,
Fantastic colors composition indoor's the exhibition hall.
Years back there was a Chihuli glass & light exhibition within the old Jerusalem walls, I was there but it was before the digital era, so have no pictures from.
His artwprk is a unique and intriguing displays.
You conveyed well the ambiance and enthusiastic mood there.
Best regards,
Ike

Hello Bulent,
This is a fascinating photo with the waterfall of colour tumbling down on the people. The light and colours are magical. I enjoyed reading the note very much. An excellent TE post.
Kind Regards, Ann

I have never heard of this artist before (we all have gaps in our knowledge) but I find this study wonderfully creative. The backlit glass gives the impression of being under the sea.
You have composed the shot beautifully, showed the interaction of the visitors and relayed a sense of the atmosphere to us, the viewers.

How are you? I hope everything is fine. As you see I'm again back to TE after a long absence. Let's see how long I will have time to visit TE daily. Your shot above fascinates me a lot, these vibrant colour hues and pictures on the ceiling are superb. It is a great idea indeed. Well done

Hi Bulent,
Many thanks for excellent introductory note. You are presenting a very nice photo with excellent colors. The arrangement with the visitors and the nice artwork is superb. It looks like an excellent photo artwork. Well done my friend. Greetings Miro.

Hi Bulent
Thank you for linking to this theme rom your image from Waterford, this is a magical view! The colors really are some of the most amazing I have scene, and they make it feel like the people below are underwater. The effect of the light throu this glasses really unique and makes for such a fascinating shot. Really nicely done.
Cheers
Noel